find the one who'll guide you
by garage glamorous
Summary: Once Upon a Time, a singing hat separated children into four houses. — Rumpelstiltskin/Belle, among others. Hogwarts!au.
1. Books, Trunks, and Teacups

Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or Harry Potter.

Part One.

~o~

Once Upon a Time, Rumplestiltskin met a girl with a kind smile and love of books.

~o~

He is eleven, and attempting to shove his trunk onto the train, something that would not have been a simple task, even if it hadn't been for his leg, when she appears.

"Hi, do you need some help?"

"Yes, that'd be nice, deary." His words are patronising, almost mean, yet, she still helps him.

Together, they manage to lug the thing into a compartment. Her things are already there.

"Thank you." He's not used to other people putting him first.

"You're welcome." Her smile is kind. "You can sit with me, if you want."

"Okay." He says. But only because he has nowhere else to sit, and definitely not because he thinks she's pretty.

"I'm Belle, by the way, what's your name?"

This is the moment he's been dreading.

"Rumplestiltskin." His voice is hesitant, and then, he silently waits for her to laugh, as all the other children did when they heard the ridiculous name.

But, she doesn't.

He opens his trunk, just to have something to do, and pulls out his lunch.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but why do you have a tea set with you?"

"I like drinking tea, and I like doing things in style."

He pours a cup, "Do you want some?"

"Sure."

She takes a cup from his hands, and stupidly, drops it. She's quite a cl

umsy girl, and she certainly didn't drop it because he makes her heart race.

She picks it up hastily, and examines it, "Sorry, it's chipped."

"Sometimes, the best teacups are chipped." He isn't really thinking as he says it.

She doesn't question him about it.

They start talking about houses, (she thinks Ravenclaw would be nice, he needs to be in Slytherin, so his parents won't disown him), and Quidditch (he of course, can't play the sport, but he does enjoy watching it) and, as the city blurs and fades, so, it seems, does time.

~o~

a/n: This will be a multi-chapter.

Eternal thanks to my best friend/co-writer Lauren

Please review :)


	2. Of Queens, Swans, and Ranting

Once Upon a Time, a Swan and a Queen began to become friends.

: :

Regina feels conflicted.

She wants the train to move, for she'll do anything to get as far away from her Mother as possible, yet this train will only bring her closer to what she despises most in this world: Magic.

"Hello? Can I sit here?"

Regina jumps up, and looks up to see a short scruffy-looking blonde girl who her Mother would most definitely disapprove of.

Maybe that's why Regina gives the blonde a seat. It gives her a small taste of rebellion, despite the fact that her Mother wasn't even there to witness such disregard of her family status.

"Thanks." The girl dumps her trunk next to Regina's, and holds out her hand. "I'm Emma by the way, Emma Swan."

"Regina Mills." Regina replies, shaking Emma's hand, flinching slightly.

If Emma notices, she doesn't question it.

Emma then pulls out a book, the cover reads 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarves'.

"I never understood why people hated The Evil Queen." Emma states, turning to Regina.

Regina raises an eyebrow.

Emma seems to catch on, and explains, "See, this girl marries this King, right? And then he dies, and she's left to raise the kid, who isn't even hers, by the way. How unfair is that? And then this kid gets voted as 'The Fairest of Them All' just coz she's like younger and a Princess, taking the title away from The Queen, who I bet was way prettier. I mean, seriously, I feel so horrible for this woman. And don't even get me started on what the Disney movie did to her!"

"I won't. Wow, you talk a lot don't you?"

"I never had someone who listened. But, if you want me to shut up, just tell me." Emma says.

"No, go on. I find it fascinating."

Regina isn't lying, so she sits and listens to Emma's rants for the entire journey, and doesn't regret a second of it.

: :

notes: Sorry I haven't updated in a while. More will be up soon. My eternal thanks to my best friend Lauren, who is now co-writing this with me :)

The Graham chapter has been deleted, as he is useless and not part of the newly devised plot AT ALL.


	3. A Werewolf, A Warrior, and Teen Wolf

_Once Upon a Time, a Warrior and a Wolf met. It went better than expected._

: :

The train has left the station, but Ruby is still searching for a compartment.

She wants to be alone, as distant from all those she could hurt as possible.

So really, it's just her bad luck when, after finally discovering an empty carriage, a tall, dark haired oriental girl with chocolate brown eyes, struts in.

She sits down without asking, not even sparing a glance at Ruby.

Ruby crosses her arms, turning away from the girl, which was not easy, considering how small the carriage was.

Ruby silently decides that if this girl isn't even going to look at her, she won't bother acknowledging her presence, either.

: :

Mulan walked into an empty compartment.

Or at least, she thinks she did.

Until her sharp eyes see the corner of the room has far more red than she thought possible.

It's a girl, Mulan realises, and she's facing away from her.

"Hi, I'm Mulan." Mulan says.

She's met with a thick wall of silence.

"I'm sorry. I didn't notice anyone was here."

"Maybe you need your eyes checked." Red mutters, angrily.

Or at least, that's what Mulan decides to call her, since she doesn't know her name, and, well, it seems to be the only colour she's wearing.

"There's no need to be so rude." Mulan comments. "Are you going to tell me your name, seeing as I told you mine?"

The girl turns at an inhuman speed to face Mulan. "My name is Ruby."

Mulan laughs slightly, seeing as this information only makes the nickname even better.

"Why are you laughing?" Ruby asks accusingly.

"Oh, I called you Red in my head, before I knew your name."

"Oh, alight then.." Ruby says.

They sit in awkward silence for much of the train ride, until Mulan somehow brings up Teen Wolf, and all hell breaks loose.

"It's complete bullshit!" Ruby yells. "You would not be that good at football, you wouldn't have control of your wolf, and most of all, you'd be too busy stressing about the next full moon than having to worry about your crush!"

"If that's how you feel about Teen Wolf, I'd love to see your reaction to Twilight. " Mulan says through laughter.

: :

a/n: Eternal thanks to my best friend/co-writer Lauren :)

Please review :)


	4. The Sorting Hat

_Once Upon a Time, a singing hat separated children into four houses. _

: :

"Gold, Rumplestiltskin!" He swears he hears the entire hall snickering about his damn name.

Except Belle, of course.

She puts a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Good luck!"

When he sits on the stool, Belle gives him the thumbs up.

The hat barely touches his head before it screams: "Slytherin!"

: :

"French, Belle!"

Belle sees Rumplestiltskin smiling at her from the Slytherin table.

She smiles back.

"Ravenclaw!" The Hat cries.

The Ravenclaw table cheers, and Belle grins.

: :

"Swan, Emma!"

Emma scurries up the steps to the stool.

"Gryffindor!" The hat calls.

Regina's smile is sad.

: :

"Mills, Regina."

The Great Hall is silent, save for Regina's shoes squeaking against the floor.

Emma looks very confused, but still flashes Regina a reassuring grin.

At least I have one friend in this place. Regina thinks.

"Slytherin!" The hat yells, because of course, she does not belong anywhere else.

The first friend I made here, and we're not even in the same house. Just my luck. Regina thinks bitterly.

She won't get to see Emma as much as she'd like, but they will still remain friends.

Regina will make sure of it.

: :

"Ory, Ruby!"

Ruby stares at the floor, as she makes her way up to the stool.

"Gryffindor!"

The Gryffindors cheer, but Ruby's just glad she's out of the spotlight.

: :

"Fa, Mulan."

"Gryffindor!" The hat declares.

To Mulan's surprise, Ruby actually looks happy.

: :

"Kingsley, Alice."

To be honest, Jefferson hasn't really been paying attention to The Sorting. He was too hungry to care.

But that all changes when he catches a glimpse of Alice Kingsley's long blonde curls.

And the way her hips swayed as she strolled up to the stool is far too eye-catching for him to look away.

Jefferson knows he really shouldn't be thinking like this, because she's only a First Year, for Merlin's sake.

Then again, he's only a Second Year, so he doesn't think people would care that much.

Still, he can tell even before the hat cries out "Hufflepuff", that this girl will be trouble.

And trouble always finds him, in the end.

: :

a/n: Eternal thanks to my best friend/co-writer Lauren :)

Please review :)


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